Rescued after being trapped under rubble for 80 hours, Xue Xiao’s first sentence were: “Uncle, I want to drink Coke, a cold one.” With this one sentence, netizens made him “Coke boy” and he became famous on the internet.

Elected as young Olympic torchbearers representing the entire country’s earthquake heroes, Deyang Dongqi Middle School girl Ma Xiaofeng and “Coke Boy” Xue Xiao have presently been given free admissions to Fudan University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Journalists yesterday interviewed and learned that presently, Xue Xiao is still learning foreign languages in order to keep pace with the pace of university studies, while Ma Xiaofeng plans on working during the summer break to save for her university living expenses.

“Xue Xiao has already been admitted to our school, and currently is handling the relevant procedures, his admissions letter having been issued in July this year.” Yesterday, a relevant representative for Shanghai University of Finance and Economics confirmed that Coke Boy Xue Xiao is hopeful to become a Shanghai University of Finance and Economics student. “On one hand he applied to our school, and on another hand, he demonstrated last year during the earthquake an aspirational spirit, and also exemplifies the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics motto: “厚德博学、经济匡时” so we are happy to accept him.” This representative revealed that the major Xue Xiao applied for was their finance school’s “corporate finance” emphasis.

Upon learning the news that he has been admitted to Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Xue Xiao appeared relatively calm. In the days before and after college entrance examination, he was continuously learning a foreign language. “We hope he can make up for the courses he dropped during the earthquake, so he will not fall behind at university.” Xue Xiao’s mother Tan Zhongyan told reporters that because he lost his right arm in the earthquake, Xiao Xue’s future life has been an issue of endless worry for his parents. “Getting into university to learn more knowledge and being able to find a job in the future solves the problem of his future livelihood.”

It is reported that Xue Xiao is a third-year high school student of Mianzhu City Dongqi Middle School who was buried under rubble during the big earthquake. Upon being rescued from the rubble, his first sentence was: “Uncle, I want to drink Coke, a cold one!” Showing the spirit of optimism in the face disaster, he became a celebrity. (According to Shanghai Youth Daily)

"Uncle, I want to drink Coke..."

Some Chinese netizens wrote posts on Tianya and Mop saying the above news is unfair.

I do not really understand according to what standards universities accept students these days.
Is this fair to the other students who were also harmed during the earthquake?

takfiri:

A country, a nationality’s education should not at any time become a kind of gift to those who are unfortunate. This is clearly only the pretenses of a hypocritical politics. This kind of coy pretense will pollute the mental disposition within the universities, and from a long-term perspective this is not beneficial to our nationality’s development. China’s misfortunes come from the tragedy of its education system, and when the education system, especially the high-level education system sucks in the opium of politics, it will definitely bring hypocrisy, jokes, degeneration, and numbness. When a nationality’s elite becomes insignificant and low, how much further can our nationality progress?

wphage:

With Deng Yujiao’s bravery and principles, [he] should be sent to Beijing University or Tsinghua!

alanflyli:

China’s universities long ago could not be considered universities, lacking the most important freedom of thought, and can only be considered training schools.

天选之子_sEa:

Have some concern for our Sichuan comrades, okay?~ You see them being sent [for free] to university,
but they have lost their parents and brothers, lost their loved ones, lost parts of their bodies, it is painful.
Look at sending them [for free to university] as the country providing some comfort for them~
For the Sichuan comrades, we are with you.

RMB一百块:

Those other people who became disabled from the earthquake, are there anyone looking after them???
Just because those two people mentioned above were seen on television, they are given free admission. Society needs fairness, and fairness is the most important at any time.

3952176:

Making university so mysterious, if you really are so just, there are many people who use improper methods to get into universities these days, yet we do not see you so upset. Moreover, because today’s society does not develop healthily, you make it sound as if going to university is entering heaven, and not going is going to hell. Actually, ability is what is truly depended on in society, a diploma is just a piece of paper.

水哥1号:

We struggle 12 years yet cannot get into a good national university; we can only blame ourselves for not being smart enough and not famous enough. I respect heroes, and respect fairness even more. Yes, they should be praised, and breaking the rules of admissions should be aimed towards those people who have made notable contributions, and a very important point is that teachers should teach according to the students’ abilities.

遥远的榕树:

If one could still have one’s own leg or arm or be able to enter Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, lou zhu, which would you choose?
Put yourself in another person’s position for a moment. It is not easy for them, they have already lost too much yet still strongly face it all.
Why can’t everyone be more lenient/generous about this? Is this not a kind of great encouragement to them who already had brutal lives?

bsck168168:

Chinese people always talk about politics.
Same for university, how these politicians treat these heroes is just pretending to be noble when they are playing to the gallery.
This is is Chinese people’s hypocrisy and belief.

梦想成真wf2009:

This stupid child, upon being rescued he should have said he wanted to drink Moutai. I bet he would have immediately been sent to become a civil servant that way.

abcdkey:

MD, a normal third-year high school student needs to test how many points in order to get into Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Fudan? Without 640+, don’t even think about it, but 640+ is a score that how many students struggle and work hard for over a dozen years before getting. Yet now a bottle of Coke can compare with other people’s dozen of years [of hard work]. This is fair? If this was the school’s own admissions [some schools select their own students from applications, not only from gaokao exam students], at least it should be an outside admission and cannot take up a part of the quota. It should not even take the quota of the school’s own admissions either. Just thinking about this makes me sad, because even with over 640 I did not get into these two schools back in my time…

自有主张的虫子:

Lou zhu you are being excessive, they have already lost so much compared to normal people, is it necessary for you to be like this? This is typical sour grapes. I think if someone were to let you be admitted for free, you would not say anything.

Also, what does our universities’ standards have anything to do with this? Do not be like a fenqing, it is not necessary. Foreign universities also have special admissions, sports-related, special-contribution-related. I really think you guys are being too extreme.

团公公:

Lou zhu is too extreme.
What the head of the university said was not wrong. May I ask if lou zhu were under those circumstances, would you have such an optimistic attitude facing disability after coming out? Universities should accept different kinds of human talent, using knowledge to assist in cultivating even more useful human talents. Only an optimism and great/powerful mental world is human talent.

pink_myt:

China sooner or later will abolish the gaokao, and be brought in line with the rest of the world.
For example, other countries do not have this gaokao and whatever university you want to go to is up to you, but whether or not you can smoothly come out [graduate] after getting in is another matter.
China is just a bit big talking, always reporting the good and not the bad, always promoting the good things.
These two universities are probably just using this matter to promote their own humanitarianism.

尤里西斯的凝视:

With so many students dead, the lucky survivors are all the hope of the disaster area, so what is unacceptable about giving them a high-class education? This is in fact the best financial aid for the disaster area. At least it is better than short-term donations.
Just how many students died in the disaster area?
What proportion of the total number of students?

liuss271:

One Sichuan earthquake has allowed how many people to have lives that they previously could not even imagine, and has also allowed how many people to quietly toil without recognition? Do we dare ask what is opportunity? Could disaster be opportunity?

aliveness:

Our leaderships must think that as long as they endlessly hype Chinese universities, they can become world famous schools.

cooljeansun:

Everyone in the world knows that so-called univerisites are all like that. The lou zhu needn’t be this excited/upset.
To say another way, that disaster victim comrade also does not have it easy, and taking care of [helping] them a bit is still better than taking care of the leaderships children, right?

901121:

Hehe, actually, what our country presently especially lacks is a kind of mentality. Sending them [to those universities] is praising them for doing something that is difficult for ordinary people to do in those circumstances, and this should receive everyone’s approval!!! Could you do it???

Poll

Do you think free university admissions for Coke Boy and Ma Xiaofeng is fair?

Dude, I agree. I might have translated some of them differently but pretty lucid (heh) arguments from many of them. Great stuff. I admit I’m likewise torn between sympathy and fairness, but I find it much easier to accept this than some rich kid buying their way into university or some official’s kid getting in through connections (though they’re rich kids too).

I say “I want to drink coke, a cold one” all the time here in China but I don’t get crap for it! I can’t stand lukewarm soda. Make mine icy with ice.

Celkian

I can’t stand getting warm soda served to me. It is that way in Germany too.

Stuey

The moutai comment is comic gold.

The John

He deserves. Dude, doesn’t even have an arm. Im glad someone can get into a good university after suffering. It doesn’t matter what he said, or if he was famous. To hate on this dude, seems like jealousy. Yes, other people need help. But, that doesn’t mean they will not get it. Im sure other students got aid, but it wasn’t publicized because they are not a coke boy. And who doesn’t want an ice cold refreshing coke. In fact, you could go the store and but one right now. It goes down smooth and cool. Everyone is doing it. Coke is so addictive, that even after you survive a hellish earthquake, you still want one.

Stuey

“Im sure other students got aid, but it wasn’t publicized because they are not a coke boy.”

That’s nice and non-cynical and all, but I doubt it’s true. At least, not every student injured will be given a place at a high-end university.

If he got accepted ’cause he survived earthquake, that’s OK. If he got accepted ’cause he said “I want a coke” and become celeb,that’s wrong.
I hope that he will be a good student and make good life.

frank.

what’s wrong with this kid, he doesn’t understand that cold beverages are the source of all disease? what sort of example is he setting for small children, encouraging them to drink cold beverages? this is just another example of how foreign corporations erode the traditional values of society.

Crumpler

mhm, im sure that after being trapping under rubble for 80 hrs, the most pressing issue on his mind is the preservation of traditinal values.

tis outragous indeed, he should of asked for sweet and sour pork instead

Lucas

Sweet and sour pork is kinda Americanized Chinese food…

The kid lost his right arm to the earthquake so there would be no way he could write the college entrance examination. A free pass would not be that unfair. Besides the university is not really a top university anyway…

In the third picture down I’ll bet a million dollars that that Coke is warm, he is saying to himself “you dork, that’s warm I wanted a cold one”

Alikese

“Upon being rescued from the rubble, his first sentence was: ‘Uncle, I want to drink Coke, a cold one!’ Showing the spirit of optimism in the face disaster”

How do you figure that? The kid had been sitting under rubble for a number of hours without anything to drink in the Sichuan heat. He wasn’t showing the spirit of optimism in the face of disaster he was thirsty and hot and knew that the Chinese wouldn’t have any cold beer.

Bokamba

It’s not fair, but it’s not the end of the world either. At least they didn’t become famous intentionally; it’s not like he made the comment in the hopes of getting some benefit.

Jay K

i swear coke execs right now have this “evil laugh” going on right now. Free advertisement baby! more subliminal messaging!

Celkian

I am not sure if I’m comfortable with Coke causing a natural disaster to get some viral marketing.

Forget about Tertiary education. He should become Coke Cola’s mascot for Asia :p He so deserve a life time supply of Coke Cola

Lucas

In China coke technically could mean either Coca Cola or Pepsi so if you ask for “coke” in a grocery store, the seller probably will ask: “coca cola or pepsi?” In some areas (mainly rural, I guess), it could also mean “feichang” coke made by the local beverage company Wahaha.

too yellow

and technically kele stands for the cola part of coca cola rather than the “coke” part. And I swear I heard the term pepsi cola before in some 50’s commercial.

fireworks

good for him. now he probably needs red bull to keep awake during class and lectures at uni.